Alysia in Wonderland Read Online Free Page B

yours going?”
    “Ooh, follow me, my dear,” she sang sweetly, and they got up from the table and walked out of the dining hall and into the library. Lenorela’s library was the most impressive collection of books that Alysia had ever seen. It was a circular room that spiraled up high into a tall tower. CeeCee recalled seeing the tower from the road, but she would never have guessed that it was part of this library.
    Books decorated every wall on every floor, broken up by ladders, shelves, and balconies with metal railings. It all ran up to a circular glass ceiling, which shone light down like a magical spotlight.
    There was this old, moldy smell of ancient, wet books, but there was also a hint of cinnamon that was so light that it teased at Alysia’s senses, making her think that she was imagining it. A number of catlike creatures scrambled into unseen holes below the lowest shelves of the library, and the light revealed numerous dust particles, which sat in the air frozen, as if they hadn’t been disturbed in over a thousand years.
    Once they were inside, Lenorela locked the door, which Alysia noticed had rows of books on it to make it disappear into the other shelves. A prison of books , she thought. Somewhere, on Earth, in a crowded library, reading, is a nerd who dreams about a place like this .
    Lenorela began to climb one of the ladders and motioned for Alysia to follow her. They climbed up to the second floor, walked around the room to the other side, and then ascended another. They continued this until they were near the top. Alysia looked down and was quite surprised at the height to which they had climbed. One slip now would be death, so she gripped the railing just in case Murphy’s Law reared its ugly head.
    “Here we are,” Lenorela said. She touched a book that receded automatically, causing a panel of the library to collapse upon itself. Stairs led down through this new portal, and the witch brought her right hand up and it began to glow like the hottest torch. Alysia didn’t bother to ask, choosing instead to follow closely as Lenorela descended into a tight hallway that opened up to a tiny room barely big enough for the two of them. Once they both stepped from the stairs, the library’s door resealed itself, and the stairs moved to form a new wall where their entrance had once been.
    “Did you build all this, Lenorela?” Alysia asked, and the witch nodded her head with pride. She lifted her glowing hand and the light seemed to pull in upon itself until it became a glowing orb inside her palm. She dropped the orb and stepped back, then gestured for Alysia to touch it.
    Alysia knelt down and touched the ball of light. It reminded her of a plasma globe and reacted very much like one when her warm hands touched it. The light rose from the orb to consume her arms, and then it became a tall column that widened into the form of a door. It was a bright, white rectangle on its end, with hard traces of yellow along its edges to outline the portal.
    Alysia, who was still kneeling, looked up at Lenorela with a look of surprise, and the woman held out a hand for her to take it. She was helped up to her feet and Lenorela faced her and held her shoulders. “What I just did, you will be able to do as well, even in my absence. The ball, the portal … all of it. All you need is this room and this ring.” She took one of Alysia’s hands and dropped a black object into it. Alysia looked at her new ring and saw that it was in the shape of an ouroboros, which was a thin, heavily detailed dragon that was snacking on its own tail.
    The ring had a weight to it, and when she slipped it onto her right ring finger she realized it was too big for her. Suddenly the ring animated and the dragon writhed a bit and swallowed more of its tail until it was a perfect fit. Alysia stared at it, her eyes wide with horror as she tried not to flinch at the tiny living thing that was on her finger. “Lenny, is this ring alive?” she